“Me either.”
Meeting the police on the porch, Grant nodded to one of the men out of uniform. “Detective Ryan, thanks for coming.”
The young detective acknowledged the greeting with a nod of his own. “When I heard the call come through, I figured it was probably linked to your other problem.”
“Definitely.”
Grant took him over to the burned trees, making sure to show him the threat painted on the barn.
The detective whistled. “They’re escalating.”
“Looks that way.”
He gestured for pictures to be taken before Grant and Natalie gave him their statements and answered all of his questions.
Detective Ryan wasn’t what Natalie expected in a detective. At least a detective outside of prime time television. He was good looking. Almost too good looking. He had the same earthy appeal that Grant did, echoed in his clothes and gestures. But there were harder edges about him that Grant hadn’t developed.
“I would suggest that both of you take extra precautions until this is settled.”
Natalie rubbed away the goose bumps on her arms, generated by both the chilled air and her apprehension. “What kind of precautions?”
“While you may not live here and be directly involved with the orchard, Ms. Cohen, there’s been a threat against you and you need to make sure that you are sufficiently protected. That goes for you too, Mr. Walker. Don’t go out alone. Be smart and be aware of your surroundings. Don’t take any chances.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Grant said, shaking the detective’s hand. “Is there anything else you need from us? I’d like to get Natalie inside.”
“That should do it. I’ll come up to the house if I have any more questions.”
Without another word, Grant steered Natalie inside.
After a deep breath, she stepped away from him. “I’m all right.”
“Are you sure? That was enough to shake anyone up.”
“Yes. It was disturbing but I can handle it.” She tried a tremulous smile.
He chuckled softly but there wasn’t any humor in it. “You don’t have to be brave, you know.” He reached out, stroking her cheek with a finger.
“Yes I do. If I don’t stand on my own… Let’s just say I don’t want to find out what will happen.”
“I understand.” He moved to the window, looking out into the dark night, the shadowed figures of the police were eerie as they moved through the trees. “Look,” he turned back to her, leaning against the sill. “This obviously is a mess here. It might be best if we took a break from trying to find out about our grandparents. At least until all this is resolved.”
“Why?”
“Why? Isn’t it obvious?” He raked a hand through his hair. “There’s some psycho out there that is poisoning and burning down trees. And now they’ve escalated. You’ve been included in his threats because you’re here, involved with me. They would lose interest in you if you stayed away.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” His brow rose. “All right, so it’s likely that they’d forget me. But I’m not afraid of this.”
“You looked afraid. Heaven knows you should be.”
“It may have thrown me off. I wasn’t prepared. But now I am. I know what to expect.”
He came to her then, gripping her arms softly, speaking even quieter. “Why does it matter? Why can’t you stay away until they’ve caught him?”
Locking eyes, she didn’t shy away. “Because I want to be with you. I want to see where this leads.”
“But still no complications? Arson seems like a complication to me,” he said, scowling. “I don’t like thinking of you in danger.”
“I don’t mind that kind of complication. That’s just life.”
“An arsonist threatening your life is just a fact of life?”
“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “What I mean is that life is complicated. I don’t expect it to be easy. I’ll admit, this is way more intense than crunching for a runway show, but if we let things come between us, we’d
Meeting the police on the porch, Grant nodded to one of the men out of uniform. “Detective Ryan, thanks for coming.”
The young detective acknowledged the greeting with a nod of his own. “When I heard the call come through, I figured it was probably linked to your other problem.”
“Definitely.”
Grant took him over to the burned trees, making sure to show him the threat painted on the barn.
The detective whistled. “They’re escalating.”
“Looks that way.”
He gestured for pictures to be taken before Grant and Natalie gave him their statements and answered all of his questions.
Detective Ryan wasn’t what Natalie expected in a detective. At least a detective outside of prime time television. He was good looking. Almost too good looking. He had the same earthy appeal that Grant did, echoed in his clothes and gestures. But there were harder edges about him that Grant hadn’t developed.
“I would suggest that both of you take extra precautions until this is settled.”
Natalie rubbed away the goose bumps on her arms, generated by both the chilled air and her apprehension. “What kind of precautions?”
“While you may not live here and be directly involved with the orchard, Ms. Cohen, there’s been a threat against you and you need to make sure that you are sufficiently protected. That goes for you too, Mr. Walker. Don’t go out alone. Be smart and be aware of your surroundings. Don’t take any chances.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Grant said, shaking the detective’s hand. “Is there anything else you need from us? I’d like to get Natalie inside.”
“That should do it. I’ll come up to the house if I have any more questions.”
Without another word, Grant steered Natalie inside.
After a deep breath, she stepped away from him. “I’m all right.”
“Are you sure? That was enough to shake anyone up.”
“Yes. It was disturbing but I can handle it.” She tried a tremulous smile.
He chuckled softly but there wasn’t any humor in it. “You don’t have to be brave, you know.” He reached out, stroking her cheek with a finger.
“Yes I do. If I don’t stand on my own… Let’s just say I don’t want to find out what will happen.”
“I understand.” He moved to the window, looking out into the dark night, the shadowed figures of the police were eerie as they moved through the trees. “Look,” he turned back to her, leaning against the sill. “This obviously is a mess here. It might be best if we took a break from trying to find out about our grandparents. At least until all this is resolved.”
“Why?”
“Why? Isn’t it obvious?” He raked a hand through his hair. “There’s some psycho out there that is poisoning and burning down trees. And now they’ve escalated. You’ve been included in his threats because you’re here, involved with me. They would lose interest in you if you stayed away.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” His brow rose. “All right, so it’s likely that they’d forget me. But I’m not afraid of this.”
“You looked afraid. Heaven knows you should be.”
“It may have thrown me off. I wasn’t prepared. But now I am. I know what to expect.”
He came to her then, gripping her arms softly, speaking even quieter. “Why does it matter? Why can’t you stay away until they’ve caught him?”
Locking eyes, she didn’t shy away. “Because I want to be with you. I want to see where this leads.”
“But still no complications? Arson seems like a complication to me,” he said, scowling. “I don’t like thinking of you in danger.”
“I don’t mind that kind of complication. That’s just life.”
“An arsonist threatening your life is just a fact of life?”
“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “What I mean is that life is complicated. I don’t expect it to be easy. I’ll admit, this is way more intense than crunching for a runway show, but if we let things come between us, we’d
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